Centennial Masonite model home moved from Fair Park to corner of Gaston and Auburn in East Dallas.

November 12, 1939

WRR Radio moves into former Chrysler Bldg. at Fair Park.

1939-1942

Part of old Automobile Building turned into a roller skating rink.

August 1941

Aviation unit of Texas Defense Guard given permission to use Alamo replica at Fair Park.

1941

Dallas Centennial celebration held at Fair Park. Old Livestock Coliseum converted into roller-skating rink. Workman accidentally damages the Woofus, which is afterward placed in storage (and later
mysteriously disappears). First “Starlight Operas” begin at the Band Shell. Dallas Garden Center opens in Centennial’s Horticulture Hall.

February 10, 1942

Electrical and Communications Building and adjoining Automobile Building destroyed by fire.

1942

Ciampaglia murals on General Exhibits Building covered with a layer of paint. Fletcher's Corny Dogs sold at State Fair for the first time.

August 1, 1942

New Cotton Bowl Roller Rink opens.

1943-1945

No State Fair due to World War II. 29th Battalion of Texas Defense Guard uses old WPA building. Horticulture building used by Rationing Board. U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps uses General Exhibits
Building (present-day Centennial Building) as a repair facility. In 1944-1945 German POWS work there.)

1944

Fletcher’s Corny Dogs are sold at the Summer Midway. Cost: 15 cents.

1945

Theater ’45 uses Old Globe Theater replica.

April 1946

Old Globe Theater replica demolished.

May 23, 1946

Midget Racer Speedway opens at Fair Park.

1946

First postwar State Fair held.

1947

Actress Mary Martin appears at Music Hall in “Annie Get Your Gun.” Magnolia Lounge becomes Margo Jones Theater. 10-year old roller coaster torn down and replaced with new wooden Comet
roller coaster, built for $100,000.

October 11, 1947

Eleven persons injured in miniature railway accident.

1947-1948

New 650-foot-long automobile building constructed for $800,000.

1948

“Kiddie Town” becomes a permanent fixture on the Midway. West side of Cotton Bowl “double-decked” to increase seating to 67,431.

1949

East side of Cotton Bowl “double-decked” to increase seating to 75,504 and new team dressing rooms built. Last year (probably) that "Fair-Way" miniature golf course is in operation.

1950

“South Pacific” performed at the Music Hall; enjoys largest gross of any musical staged at State Fair to date.

November 6, 1950

Dallas’ famous hand-carved oak Merry-Go-Round burns down.

1951

New Livestock Pavilion constructed in time for State Fair.

August 31, 1951

Alamo replica built for Texas Centennial Exposition is razed.

October 4, 1952

“Big Tex” debuts at State Fair. Senator and future U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson opens the Fair.

1952

Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson gives a speech in front of the Hall of State.

1953

“Big Tex’s” jaw is hinged so he can “speak.”

1954

Women’s Building (present-day Grand Place) built. Dallas Power and Light Company installs a clock on former Federal Building along with a large letters identifying the structure as the
Electric Building. Actor Yul Brynner appears in "The King and I" at State Fair Music Hall. Cowboy actor Hopalong Cassidy appears at State Fair.

May 15, 1954

Annual Boy Scout Circus held in Cotton Bowl.

1955

During the State Fair, African-American pickets protest fairgrounds segregation. Girl killed in Ferris Wheel accident and two others injured.

1956

Monorail installed in time for State Fair. $400,000 of bond money allocated for Fair Park expansion

October 11, 1956

Elvis Presley performs in the Cotton Bowl.

November 1956

Old Textile and Fine Arts Building demolished.

1957

13-acre parking lot added to Fair Park. Name of State Fair Auditorium changed to State Fair Music Hall. New Garden Center building incorporates old Horticultural Hall.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a speech at a poll tax rally held in the State Fair Music Hall.

May 1963

Dept. of Public Safety moves out of Texas Ranger Cabin it had been using as Drivers License office.

August 1963

Texas Ranger cabin demolished.

1964

In the wake of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the "African Dip" concession is renamed "Splash! Splash!"

August-September 1964

Monorail dismantled and “Swiss Sky Ride” erected in its place.

1965

The ashes of pioneer aviator Charles Wiggins are scattered in the Cotton Bowl.

1967

$12.6 billion bond package includes Fair Park improvements.

January 1, 1968

Dedication ceremony for R. L. Thornton statue in front of Hall of State.

October 11, 1970

Berlin Bear statue dedicated.

December 8, 1971

State Fair purchases and takes over operation of Swiss Skyride.

1972

City-owned radio station WRR moves into new $375,000 wing adjacent to the Health and Science Museum (now Science Place II and formerly the Hall of Domestic Science). Television personality Art Linkletter opens State Fair. Actor Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger) appears at State Fair. Southwestern Historical Wax Museum closes; replaced by Wax World.

1972-1973

During bond-financed capital improvement program, a quarter of a million dollars is allocated for Fair Park improvement.